Back To Better A Tom Riddle Fanfiction Sequel

Chapter 7

Tom sat there, waiting. Cassiopeia had started breathing again a while ago, but only in a faint and shallow way. Tom bit his lip. This simply had to work. How long would it take for her to finally wake up?

He carefully rested her head on the pillow again.

Time went by and the minutes seemed to stretch endlessly. Tom just kept sitting there, not moving an inch. Somehow he felt stupid and yet he couldn't get himself to let go and get up. 

After what seemed like eternity, Cassiopeia finally opened her eyes just the slightest bit before they immediately fluttered shut again.

Tom instantly felt an unfamiliar wave of utter relief wash through his body. For the fraction of a second his lips twitched into a genuine smile.

Cassiopeia slowly opened her eyes again. With a voice that sounded unnaturally hoarse and not at all like he remembered it, she breathed, "Where am I?"

Tom looked back at her, trying to grasp the strange sensation that was spreading inside of him. It had worked. His curse had actually worked. Not that he had ever truly doubted his abilities but still, there was no way to describe how immensely good this success felt.

Realizing that she was actually waiting for a reply, Tom pursed his lips, pondering his answer. After a moment he finally said, "You're home."
Cassiopeia's eyes narrowed in slight confusion, and with an apologetic smirk he added, "Well, at least the last place close to something like home that's left to us."

Somehow the look of confusion on Cassiopeia's face intensified. Tom chuckled. There was this incredibly comforting warmth running inside of him that he had missed for too long and that always made things look so much brighter and easier. He knew nothing was going to go wrong as long as he was able to make this warmth stay. And hell, yes, this time he was going to make it stay. He wasn't going to ruin it ever again.

"What happened?" Cassiopeia coughed. "I thought I was dying." She tried to raise her head but instantly flinched and gave up. "And it sure feels like I did."

"As long as it's up to me to decide, you're surely not going to die." Tom knew he sounded incredibly smug even though he hadn't felt as self-confident as that moments ago.

Suddenly the look of confusion on Cassiopeia's face was replaced by a look of concern. "Where are Grace and Ben?"

With some difficulty Tom suppressed a frown at the mention of Ben. He shrugged. "I surely don't know where Ben is and neither do I care." He could tell that Cassiopeia, of course, was about to interject, so he quickly continued, "But Grace went to Hogwarts this morning, so I daresay she's alright."

This time the look of concern on Cassiopeia's face was instantly replaced by a look of utter alarm.

Tom's lips twitched into a smirk again. "I can see you remember our... discussions. But... how shall I put it.... I kind of.... sorted out my priorities." He chuckled again.

Cassiopeia weakly raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

"Well, let's say I decided that I've spent enough time on all these fools. They are not worth my magic. There's so much more to try and change..." He drew a deep breath. "So I let them take Hogwarts back."

Cassiopeia looked as if she couldn't quite believe her ears. "You mean to say that after all these years, after all the sorrow and trouble we went through, you finally saw sense?"

"I'd certainly put it differently, but, yes, I guess you're right."

A smile spread on Cassiopeia's face and even though Tom could tell that she was far from being alright, she finally seemed to relax.

And strangely enough this made him relax just as much. Carefully he lay down next to her and looked at the ceiling. There was a moment of silence and Tom listened to Cassiopeia's breathing become steadier and stronger with every breath she took. He relished the warmth she was radiating and, finally, after so many cold months, he was able to feel warm again, to feel alive again.

Tom drew a deep breath before he finally started talking again, his voice low. "To be fair, obviously there are a few downsides of my decision to just disappear." He pursed his lips. "Because without being the one everyone fears, unfortunately, now there are Aurors everywhere, trying to make sure I won't ruin their pathetic idea of an ideal world once again. So even though I don't think they'd ever dare to come searching for me, at least they prevent me from having any social life outside for the time being."

He chuckled softly. "Not that I ever cared about having a social life anyways but, well, basically, now, and probably for a very long time, it's going to be only the two of us around, seeing that I'm their undesirable number one and you're supposed to be dead..."

He turned his head to look at Cassiopeia. She had closed her eyes again and he wondered if she had even been listening.

Just when he was about to ask, she whispered, "This would always have been enough for me and it's all I'd ever have asked for. I just don't know why we had to go through so much pain and so much sorrow when it all could have been so simple." Suddenly she opened her eyes and turned to look at him as well. "But things are a little different now, aren't they? How are we supposed to take care of Grace if we aren't able to go out and be ourselves? How are we going to protect her if anyone ever finds out who she is?"

Tom didn't miss the hidden accusation in her tone and he knew he couldn't blame her. After all, no matter how much he disliked to admit it, this was his fault, all of it. He turned towards Cassiopeia and propped himself up on his elbow.

"I don't think anyone will ever find out. We made up a great cover story and", a grin spread on his face, "I'm quite proud to say that she's probably just as good at telling stories as I am."

"Actually I don't think that's something to be proud of", Cassiopeia huffed. "But maybe in our situation it's useful, I'll give you that. But I don't think just being good at telling lies will get her out of this alive. We'll have to think of something better."

Tom nodded and lay back down. "Oh, yes, we will."

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Author's note: I'm so so sorry that it's taken me so long to continue writing and that it's such a short chapter. But I just wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned the story and it's going to be finished!!! So thanks for your patience and thanks for reading!!